Complementary Circumstances
by Caya Strife
Summary: A Collection of Drabbles and One Shots revolving around Zoro and Nami; at times romantically inclined, sometimes pure nakamaship. #1 Mask: While battling with harsh words, it seems the swordsman and the navigator share a silent understanding.
1. Mask

**Complementary Circumstances  
**_a collection of One Piece Drabbles_

****

**#1 Mask**

Another battle.  
Yet another fierce fight. Naturally, the swordsman had been among the first to join the bloodshed; considering it his prime duty as first mate of the Strawhat Pirates to always be at the front lines of any conflict, putting the advancement of their crew far above his own well-being. So it was hardly surprising that he usually ended up badly wounded, at times even more severely than the captain himself. The stubborn man was a constant worry of their young doctor; and he had not chosen to break with this habit just now.

While the other members of the crew had joined for a celebratory banquet, the green haired man was located in sick bay, a flustered Chopper having condemned him to bed rest - certainly only after making sure that the bandages were so tightly bound that the thought of getting up would be strangled in the process of its birth. Slightly annoyed at Chopper's worry, yet not intending to upset him even further, Zoro stretched his worn-out muscles - as far as the bandages allowed him to - and brought his arms behind his head. If he had to be stuck in that small room, he might at least make the most of it and take a quiet nap. But he should not be granted his little wish, for only a few moments later, small footsteps approached from the outside and eventually, the door was pushed open.

"And there I was sure I'd find you snoring away." The redhead navigator commented with a sly smirk and made her way over to the bed, silver spoon clinking against the ceramic bowl filled with hot, steaming soup. She balanced the hot dish carefully and gently placed it on the bedside table.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, eyeing the woman before him incredulously.  
"How much?" he asked bluntly.

"Idiot!" she huffed, trying to appear offended by what he had suggested. Yet they both knew he love for money far too well to truly take it to heart. So instead of gracing him with a reply, she simply pushed the bowl closer to him and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Too tired to second guess her yet again, hr simply took the dish into his calloused hands and began emptying it. And Nami simply sat at his side, watching until he had finished. A strained silence crept over the small, stuffy room. Nami couldn't help letting her eyes wander across his upper body strew with old scars as well as freshly obtained gashes, deep crevices, their blood already staining the fresh bandages.

"Geez, you're such an idiot " she commented, shaking her head.

"Excuse me?!" he barked, his temper flaring instantly at the insult. Had he not been so restricted, he would certainly have jumped straight up.

"Why do you always have to be so dumb and jump right at any battle?" she elaborated "Look at yourself! Your body is just barely holding together! Idiot "  
Her eyes were laden with a plethora of emotions : pride, anger, fury, accusation. But among those insults was something of quite a different nature. And he understood.  
_'Why do you always have to make me worry like that'_

He averted his gaze from her, veiled his expression with a haughty mask and, with a snort, rested back against the wall.  
"Hmpf. Measly guys like those could never kill me."  
_'So don't worry'_

"You're such a jerk sometimes." she scowled, "Even your luck will run out one day."  
_'Don't tell me not to worry when you keep returning in even worse shape each time. One day you might not make it out at all..."  
_

Again, Zoro snorted, the haughty grin never once leaving his face.  
"Right, and I'm sure you'll be there to rub it in my face; you'd even find of a way of charging me for dying."  
_'So don't worry, I won't die. After all I have to pay you back. And since you know I'm broke, that won't be any time soon'  
_

She returned his scowl in reaction to his - all too familiar - insult.  
"And that just cost you another 10.000 Beri", and with a grin, she added: "With interest, of course."  
_'Just to make sure you don't stand a chance of walking the plank anytime soon'  
_

"Money-grubbing witch..." Zoro spat in her direction with the pretense of a deadly glare.

"Directionally-disable mosshead!" she retorted, at the same time planting a thumping punch on top of his head - which, of course, to Zoro's skull felt like nothing more than the bounce of a soft pillow.

With that, she grabbed the empty dish, turned on her heel and made her way out of the small room.

Staring up at the wooden ceiling, Zoro absent-mindedly rubber the location of her previous smack, almost enjoying the slightly tinkling sensation her small knuckles had left behind. A small smirk played around his lips.

"You worry too much, woman."

***

***

a/n: I am in a sort of 'One Piece' and especially ZoNa mood - once again - so I thought I'd just write this out. I've always found the interactions of Zoro and Nami quite interesting. While they usually seem to be some of the more mature members of the crew, they just can't keep from quarreling. So I'm sure that, by now, they've come to some sort of silent understanding. Of course that's what any ZoNa Shipper would like to believe! But be it romantically or not, those two are Nakama, and the only thing keeping them from showing the concern they must feel for each other - even if only as that - is the felt need to keep up their tough fronts. So I thought: why not try and look behind those?

Please tell me what you think!

Oh, also, this is supposed to turn into a collection of drabbles and oneshots, so if there's anything you'd particularly like to see, just let me know!

**_Complementary (adj.): completing, forming a complement. combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize each other's qualities._**

_**Complementary Contrast (n.): **in art theory, the combination of two colors which cancel out each other's hue; colors which are opposite of each other on the color wheel. _(Coincidentally, red and green)


	2. Compass

**#2 Compass**

_To most, magnetism - when used in connection with people - signified a sexual or sensual attraction between a man and a woman._

Once again, the swordsman did not have the slightest idea of the tidings that had brought him into his current situation. The last thing he consciously remembered was walking away from the small port where the Thousand Sunny had anchored earlier in direction of the tiny adjacent village and somehow finding himself on the ridge of a long chain of high, foggy mountains. Who the hell had put mountains near the coast anyway? And hadn't they said the village was only a mere 5 minutes from the port? Yeah right...

Now, however, the mountain scenery had stepped aside to make space for a dark, dingy backstreet. The location of said street, naturally, eluded him just as much as that of the mountains had. Yet the scene that played before his very eyes assured him that he had found his way to the right spot, and in just time, as well.

While unsheathing his three katana in one astoundingly fluid and silent motion, his eyes met those of their red-head navigator, who currently stood with her back against a brick wall, clima-tact protectively in front of her slender body. Around her stood a dozen men armed with various weapons. Zoro guessed that they belonged to a group of bounty hunters who had apparently seen luck striding straight into their arms when the woman had crossed their path without the usual attachment of her other crew members.

"Twelve men against one woman. Hardly seems fair to me." his gruff voice rumbled through the small street.

During the split-seconds in which their eyes met, he could have sworn he had caught a surprised and still relieved look on her face, yet she instantly reverted to her usual, 'spunky' self, putting up her mask of annoyance.

"What took you so long?"

Almost automatically, a scowl flew to his face and a muttered 'witch' escaped his rough lips before he let his agile reflexes take over.

One by one, the bounty hunters went down effortlessly just as they were probably realizing who the young man in front of them might be.

With his duty done, Zoro gently sheathed his precious katana and watched the redhead cross over to him, stepping disgustedly over the discarded bodies.

"Now where did you come from all of a sudden, anyway?" she commented, the hint of a teasing note in her voice, a taunting glimmering in her brown eyes. "Got yourself lost again, didn't you?" She smirked.

Zoro instantly blushed wildly and reacted like he always did whenever he became flustered: attack. Loudly.

"Oh, shut it, woman!" he barked. "It's you who always gets herself into a friggin' mess!"

Nami blinked once, twice, feigning to feel offended and allowed her face to take on a look that surely had broken many a man's heart - and wallet - and did absolutely nothing to reduce the furious flush on the swordsman's cheeks.

"Well, you always make it in time, so what's to worry?" she taunted, running a delicate finger along his jawline, deepening the crimson in his features to a point where all of the blood in his body had to have traveled into his head.

Acutely aware of his effect on him, she let out a quick, sweet laugh and, after patting his cheek lightly as one would do with a well-behaved child, turned around and started walking back towards the center of the village.

With a wave of her arm, she added: "Now, get moving, Zoro! You wouldn't wanna get yourself lost again!"

The green-haired man, up to this moment still frozen to the spot, felt the blood gushing through his head, bringing along an impossible heat that Chopper would no doubt have identified as a lethal fever.

"One day I'll kill you myself, you wretched woman!" he yelled after her, only to grudgingly set himself into motion to follow her retreating form.

Yes, to most, 'magnetism' meant sexual or sensual attraction between a man and a woman. In the case of one sadly directionally challenged young swordsman,the word 'magnetism' was to be taken literally. This certain annoying, greedy redhead was his pole, the magnetic field that could stop his broken inner compass from spinning endlessly. Whenever she was in a bind, he was sure to find his way to her, just at the right time. He had no idea how she did it, but since she was a world-class navigator with skills in a field that could be no further from his knowledge, he was absolutely certain that she had schemed of a way of harnessing that power over him.

She guided him, 'navigated' him.

To most, 'magnetism' meant sexual or sensual attraction between a man and a woman. Yet that was nowhere near the case with him and Nami, Zoro assured himself, traces of crimson still adorning the tanned skin of his cheeks.

:::

_a/n: Well, here's my second drabble, Compass. Does it seem like much of a coincidence to anybody other than me that these are "navigator-par-excellence" and "couldn't-find-my-way-out-of-a-box"? It's just one of the facts that make this couple/constellation so interesting: contrasts wherever you look, and thus a ton of potential for arguments, fights and friction. These two are such a joy to play with^^_

_Anyway, I'm sure that in the following drabbles, I'll also stray from the usual suspects - aka. scenes one would expect when dealing with these two - and put them in different environments, just to see what will happen^^_

_And of course thanks go to my reviewers! I greatly appreciate any sort of feedback, and to Ilex: sooner or later, I'll put in a romantic drabble or two, as well;)_


	3. Skills

**#3 Skills**

Accompanied by the soft rustling of her overly large, white shirt, Nami shifted her weight to let her body come to a rest on her side, supporting her head with her left hand while the right one lazily traced the swordsman's marred chest.

Since they had started traveling as members of the Strawhat Pirates many years ago, there had been a sort of electricity between them. In the beginning, this tension had often unloaded itself in spontaneous fights and heated arguments. Yet over time, before any one of them had realized it, their chemistry had evolved and the electric energy had found a way of being released in other, more passionate ways as well. Effortlessly, they had developed a deep trust - their arguments still present but now merely a spice in their daily interactions.

Needless to say, the years had brought other changes with them, both minor and major; and one was currently at the very fingertips of the redheaded young woman.

Unhurriedly, she ran her finger along the many smaller and larger scars that had come to adorn Zoro's chest over the course of all those years. It was a habit she had developed quite a while ago. Somehow, seeing the proof of so many battles fought - and, needless to say, won - often calmed her surfacing worries, particularly whenever he returned from another battlefield, barely alive, barely holding together. Luckily, the crew's doctor had also profited from the many years of his duty and honed his skills, saving companions that already seemed to be far gone. Not quite surprisingly, his most frequent patient was none other than the swordsman himself.

During their first years on board, Nami had often wondered if there even was a spot on the green-haired man's body which was not littered with scars. Now, however, she had gained some 'private insight' - as she termed it, smirking - and had to admit that she had been surprised at how pristine and, yes, vulnerable even, he would look when stripped off his strong front - among other things.

She smirked to herself at the thought, but still chose to continue her tactile exploration of his well-toned chest. True, they were reminders of his battles won, and he wore each and every one of them proudly. Yet surprisingly, none of the other men had gathered nearly as many as he had, not even their captain. While the swordsman's torso was slowly but surely assuming the appearance of a topological map, the others seemed almost untouched. But then again, he had always exhibited an unnatural urge to throw himself into battle.

"You know, Zoro..." she began lowly, her voice trailing off while her index finger came upon a rather thick specimen of scarred tissue.

The young man at her side, resting on his back with his arms behind his head, let out a low grunt, thus acknowledging her will to communicate. His eyes, however, remained closed.

"I sometimes wonder", she continued, never ceasing her actions, "how it is that you're always the one to take all the damage?"

At this, he cracked his eyes open and shot her a tired look.

"Are you trying to insult me?" his voice was raspy and longing for sleep after the previous physical exertion.

Nami controller the urge to roll her eyes - leave it to the swordsman to feel his manly pride questioned by a completely innocent remark, she thought to herself. Yet she chose to simply ignore it; she was curious for an answer and had learned through experience that reacting to his tempers would get her anything but that.

"I know you're a swordsman, and this crew's first mate - and you practically live for battle", she began trying to relay her train of thought to him, "but you're not the only fighter in this crew, still you throw yourself into almost any fight you can get your hands on. Not even Luffy as the captain could rival you in that."

He took her brief pause as an opportunity to let a small smirk creep onto his face, thus giving away the pride he took in his actions - and her recognition of those.

Nami only frowned.

"Doesn't that seem weird to you?"

He shrugged in reply and closed his eyes again.

"It's my skill", he added matter-of-factly, his voice slurry with the wish for sleep.

Nami eyebrows shot up instantly and she eyed him with disbelief.

"Your skill? Throwing yourself into battle?" she questioned incredulously. "What kind of a stupid skill is that?"

Once again, Zoro cracked his eyes open to deliver a sideways glare before he directed his eyes at the ceiling and began explaining his train of thought to the redhead by his side.

"Well, you draw your maps and keep the ship on course, that shitty cook makes sure we don't starve, Chopper keeps us from dying from stupid things; and I fight so you don't have to." and with another shrug - though certainly quite some pride as well - he added "It's what I'm good at."

With a bemused smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, the navigator looked at the swordsman. True, his fighting strength and will were one of his biggest assets to the crew, but somehow she had never seen it in that light before. Yet no matter what the motivation, she was glad he filled that position with as much determination as he did. She certainly owed him her life - in many ways, and on many occasions. Still she was sure to never tell him that; in these regards, she preferred to follow the same principle that he adhered to: action speaks louder than words.

Her bemused smile transformed into a catlike grin as she shifted her body back further over his, her right leg draping over his, hand resting ever so lightly above his heart.

"Still, I know, as a matter of fact, that it is not the only thing you're good at..."

Her voice trailed off into a purr as Zoro's head turned back into her direction; the smirk on his face letting her know that she had fueled his pride and now had his full attention. With a dangerous glint in his eyes, a low rumble escaped his throat and he pulled her down towards himself. The second their hungry mouths met, the tiredness was eradicated instantly.

Oh yes, there were indeed other things he was good at; but some skills should rather not be shared with the whole crew.

* * *

a/n: Here you are, one shot number 3, 'Skills'. One night, while re-reading the original mangas (in Japanese! wohoo!^^'), it somewhat struck me that everyone on the ship has their own special skill to contribute to the crew - usually in addition to fighting; except for Zoro, who seems to be made for battle. Somehow I felt the need to put that in words. Also, this one shot is set a couple of years in the future, and Zoro and Nami have turned into an 'item'. I can only imagine how heated their relationship is^^ Still, it's an interesting idea and I will quite likely get back to it in future shots. Also: if you have ideas or scenes you would like to see written out, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

And, last but not least, thank you all so much for your kind reviews! They are dearly appreciated!


	4. Never again as always

#4 Never again - as always

Objectively speaking, he was much worse for the wear. Spectators might likely wonder as to how his body was at all able to sustain its usual composition. Gashes and deep cuts littered his tanned front and arms, blood streaming out of the openings in mad torrents.

Compared to his battered form, the woman slumped almost lifelessly against his back, supported by his own bleeding arms, seemed almost unharmed. A shoulder look painfully dislocated and there were quite likely a few fractures under the bruises as well.

For him, however, there was no doubt whose injuries weighed more heavily on his heart - and his conscience. True, had he come to her rescue even seconds later, he would likely be carrying her corpse back to his nakama in shame right now. Still, the mere fact that she had been injured tore greatly at his insides.

She was not supposed to be injured at all.

That was why he fought. He was the fighter; he was the one whose blood was to be shed.

Not her.

On his conscience, her broken bones and the shoulder that was not in its original position weighed so much heavier than the loss of one of his own limbs ever could. He knew her wounds would heal - and that she would probably be pampered by the love cook for that duration; quite probably, not even a scar would remain on her smooth skin.

His legs grew heavier with every step he treaded through the mud - no reason, of course, for the warrior to stop and take a rest - and his clothes were drenched from the heavy rain pouring down onto his body, intermingling with the fresh crimson torrents swelling forth from his wounds.

The woman on his back was shielded from the largest part of the attacking waves - even if she had not been, she quite likely would not have noticed, for she had her eyes closed tiredly and appeared to have drifted off into the deep sleep of exhaustion.

A fact Zoro was rather pleased with. Usually when he saved her, his reward was a thunderstorm of insults, complaints and commands. This time, however, she had not even managed more than a single 'Zoro?' before she had collapsed on the ground. At first, this had gravely concerned him. But as he had found that her breathing was strong - albeit a little shallow - and her heart pounding in its usual rhythm, his worries had ceased.

And his stupid conscience had knocked on the front door.

Next time, he would be faster.

Next time, he would make sure she made it out unharmed.

He was the fighter; he was the one whose blood was to be shed.

All of a sudden, his boots lost their grip on the slippery ground, and he barely managed to keep from falling face forward into the mud. As he took a second to recover his balance, he noticed the form on his back stirring lightly.

"Zoro…? What?" came a confused voice, followed by a small yelp of pain - which, of course, instantly grabbed his insides and squeezed them tightly.

Yet before he even had the chance to reply, he felt her body jolting upright, almost threatening to throw him over.

"Zoro! Where the hell do you think you're going? You stupid idiot, those are mountains! Have you absolutely no common sense under that ugly green moss of yours?"

Zoro gritted his teeth.

_Like hell there would be a next time!_

_:::::_

_a/n: And he will still return, the knight in shining green armor, when the exuberant damsel is in distress._

_Will not proofread right now, since it was a long day - students were a little tiring today - and I need my 'beauty sleep'. I might, however return to this idea, because it was originally planned to be completely different - and I might fall back on that in the future. Anyway, hope you enjoy - if you do, please read and review! - and a good night!_


	5. Contagious

**#5 Contagious**

This was getting ridiculous, Nami thought to herself as she fired her used kleenex into the paper bin next to her desk and picked up a fresh one.  
Somehow she had managed to catch a nasty cold which had turned her head into a microbiological war-zone: her eyes had watered and looked red and swollen, her nose had turned equally crimson due to the constant sneezing and her sinus cavities were painfully inflamed, sending a sudden pressure through her head whenever she bent over too far or moved just a little too fast. The worst of all, however, was the constant prickling in the front of her skull - sooner or later, she was sure, it would drive her crazy. No matter what she tried, nothing seemed to be able to take her mind off of it; the maps she had taken out and placed on the desktop in front of herself were hardly touched. The only real progress she seemed to be making was the emptying of the kleenex box.

With a loud groan, her head landed on top of the maps - face first - her hands holding it down in defeat.

She felt lousy.

After a moment, heavy footsteps from the outside announced a visitor. The door to her study was opened quietly just a little later - he never bothered to knock lately. Turning around tiredly she was not surprised to see the gruff face of the swordsman staring back at her.

"You look like shit." he stated plainly.

Nami, much too tired to jump at this chance of an argument, decided to settle for a deadly albeit weakish glare.

"What do you want?" Her voice, both hoarse and nasal, only underlined the general impression of her misery.

Zoro stepped up to the redhead and presented a mug with steaming hot contents and two small, white pills.

"Doctor's orders." he explained curtly while handing her the drink and medicine.

Not quite enthusiastically she grabbed the pills and quickly swallowed them - the disgusted expression on her face serving as an obvious comment on the taste - and rather more contently took the mug and allowed a few small sips to wash away the bitter aftertaste. Peppermint tea, she noticed, with a pleasant note of honey and various other herbs she failed to name - quite likely prepared by the ship's cook. She took a few more small sips and then carefully set the ceramic container down to let its contents cool down a little.

Shortly glancing over the desktop and then back to the navigator's exhausted face, the swordsman raised an eyebrow.

"I think you should get some rest."

Nami groaned again and rested her forehead in her hands, staring at the almost untouched paper in front of her.

"I can't", she said, almost dramatically, "I need some distraction. This stupid cold is driving me nuts!"

"If it's distraction you need..." the swordsman began - a devious grin appearing on his face unseen by the woman in front of him - and bent over her slumped form, his breath hot against the skin of her neck, "I know something that will definitely work."  
No sooner had he finished the sentence that his lips were already kissing the tender flesh of her neck, slowly trailing their way around her chin and finally onto her deeply crimson lips.

She managed to pull away only sluggishly, leaving nothing more than a mere inch between their parted mouths.

"You know I'm contagious..." she murmured.

His trademark smug smirk made a swift reappearance.

"I never catch colds." he simply replied before reclaiming her lips and preparing to give her just the distraction she was longing for.

.....

"Achoooooooo!" rang the loud sneezing sound through the Sunny Go's galley, clearly audible even above the general mayhem of the Strawhat crew.

"Bless you." Came a sweet reply, followed by a giggle that had escaped suppression.

"Huh, I guess idiots DO catch colds after all", the cook commented with a grin, swiftly placing another mug of hot tea on the table in front Zoro.

Said greenhaired man only scowled and grabbed a kleenex from the box the navigator was ever so generously offering to him.

This was getting ridiculous.

* * *

_a/n: Because I currently have a very nasty cold - and 'look like shit'. Felt I should share all that with you;)_  
_Enjoy, and please review! (Many many thanks go to all my previous reviewers; I really appreciate all your feedback! Thank you so much!)_


End file.
